At Least 10 Killed In 3 Suicide Attacks In NE Nigeria
AFP has more on the earlier reports of suicide bombings in north eastern Nigeria.
At least 10 people were killed when three suicide bombers blew themselves up in the town of Chibok, a town elder has told AFP.
Ayuba Chibok says that the blasts happened at around noon local time when the town was full of traders for the weekly market. The blasts "bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram," AFP report.
Tunisia Breaks Up 'Militant Cell' Connected To IS
Tunisia says that it has disrupted a cell recruiting militants for the IS group in Libya and Syria, Reuters reports.
"Our special forces counterterrorism unit dismantled a cell which included nine extremists in Bizerte who were actively recruiting young people to send them into areas of trouble," the interior ministry said.
Only Syrians Invited To Peace Talks: UN
After Turkey announced that it was lifting its threat to boycott the Syria peace talks in Geneva, the United Nations announced that, in fact, only Syrians have been invited to participate, France 24 reports.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned late Jan. 26 that Turkey would boycott the talks if the Syrian Kurdish PYD was invited. This afternoon, a senior Turkish official announced that Turkey was dropping its threat because the PYD has not been invited.
France 24 points out, however, that Khawla Mattar, a spokesman for the UN's Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, has said that there is "no plan to invite" non-Syrians to the talks.
18 Besieged Areas In Syria, 500,000 Cut Off From Food
The Saudi-backed Syrian opposition is demanding that blockades on besieged areas be lifted as a precondition for peace talks to begin on Jan. 29.
The World Food Programme just tweeted this infographic about the situation in Syria regarding sieges. There are 18 besieged areas -- not all by the Syrian government, some are blockaded by rebels -- affecting some 500,000 people.
18 Besieged Areas In Syria, 500,000 Cut Off From Food
The Saudi-backed Syrian opposition is demanding that blockades on besieged areas be lifted as a precondition for peace talks to begin on Jan. 29.
The World Food Programme just tweeted this infographic about the situation in Syria regarding sieges. There are 18 besieged areas -- not all by the Syrian government, some are blockaded by rebels -- affecting some 500,000 people.
Turkey Drops Threat To Boycott Syria Talks
Turkey has dropped a threat to boycott the Syria peace talks in Geneva, Today's Zaman reports, citing a senior Turkish official as saying that Turkey will be represented at the talks at the highest level.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu threatened late yesterday that Turkey would boycott the talks, due to start Jan. 29, if the Syrian Kurdish PYD were invited to participate as part of the opposition.
The PYD has not received an invitation to the talks, it emerged today.
The authenticity of the photograph in this tweet has not been verified, but there have been other reports of IS disguising its military hardware in order to avoid targeting in air strikes.
Reports Of Large Deployment By Al-Nusra Front In Syria's Aleppo
There are reports that Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate the Al-Nusra front has deployed a large convoy of vehicles to Aleppo city.
The Britain-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Nusra had sent a "large convoy of around 200 vehicles loaded with armed militants" to the city.
SOHR also reported that the U.S.-backed Nouradine al-Zinki group intends to withdraw from Aleppo.
Lebanese news site NOW Media reports that a journalist based in the Aleppo countryside, Majid Abdelnour, has told a pro-opposition news site that Nusra had deployed near the Castello Road, which spans the northern edges of Aleppo.
According to NOW Media, there are unconfirmed rumors that the Syrian government might be planning an offensive to relieve rebel sieges on two Shi'ite villages north of Aleppo, Zahra and Nubl.
The Al-Nusra Front released a video on the evening of Jan. 26 showing a convoy of vehicles driving along a highway with a caption saying that the vehicles -- which were packed with armed men -- were going to reinforce the Aleppo front.
'A Terror Group More Dangerous Than IS'
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has tweeted CNN's Snapchat plug for a new report on the Al-Nusra Front, the Syrian Al-Qaeda affiliate. The report, by ISW and the Critical Threats Project, is downloadable here and says the Al-Nusra Front could be more of a threat to the United States than the IS group.
Libya's PFG Accused Of Handing Over Oil Assets To IS
Libya's Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG),the militia tasked with protecting the country's oil facilities, has been accused of handing over cash, oil and territory to the IS group, according to the News.com.au news site.
National Oil Corporation (NOC) chief Mustafa Sanalla told a conference in London this week that the 27,000 strong PFG was more of a hindrance than an asset and one of the largest obstacles to a unified government.
Sanalla said the PFG, rather than holding the facilities as it was supposed to, wanted to disable them.
“They have tried to sell oil themselves and then they failed to protect the places they were meant to,” he said.
“We estimate that the activities of the PFG has adversely affected 70 per cent of oil production.
“We are an autonomous body serving Libya rather than either of the governments. The PFG are also meant to be like that, but their only loyalty is to making money.”